Marist's Senior Football Players Ink Letters of Intent

CHICAGO, IL – Marist High School senior football players inked letters confirming their plans to continue their academic and athletic careers at the college level. Caleb Burrell, of Wrightwood (Ashburn), and Justin Marshall, of Mt. Greenwood, both participated in a National Letter of Intent signing ceremony on Wednesday in Marist’s RedHawk Theater.

Burrell, a two-year starter on the defensive line, will attend and play for Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., where he will study computer science. Voted team captain for his senior season by his teammates, Burrell was also an East Suburban Catholic Conference all-conference selection for 2018. He finished his senior season with 50 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one interception. His career stats include 98 total tackles, ten tackles for loss, six sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception.

Head coach Ron Dawczak ’93 described Burrell as a humble, high character player who served as a great example to younger players.

“Caleb was an unquestioned leader of our defensive line,” Dawczak said. “His strength allowed him to anchor against the run while his quickness also made him a dangerous pass rusher.”

RedHawks long snapper Marshall will attend Concordia University in Mequon, Wis. Marshall worked extremely hard as a specialist and was instrumental to the team’s success this past season. He did not have a have single bad snap on 22 punts and 52 PATs. Dawczak said Marshall brought positive energy each and every day to practice and was trustworthy enough to work on his skills each day in practice without a true position coach. Additionally, Marshall contributed in practice every day during team sessions as the spotter for the coaches. He plans to study biology.

During their two-year varsity stint, Burrell and Marshall were part of a tremendously successful run for Marist which included a 23-3 overall record and a perfect 14-0 conference record. The program competed in two state quarterfinals and one state semifinal.

More commitments are expected as the school year continues. Marist is a member of the competitive ESCC and its athletes and teams regularly garner success at the local and state levels.